From the cover, I was expecting a modern story, but inside was a sweet old-fashioned story from when childhood was still innocent. I wish the cover illustrations were less modern looking and more closely matched the illustrations in the story, but otherwise a charming read.

Lovel to read this children's classic. There are some parts that are dtaed.

This was a sweet read, perfect episodic chapter book for some girl time reading with my 6 year old before bed. She loved hearing about Betsy's adventures at school.

Former Library Copy

Haywood's books were my absolute favorite, and this one was the first chapter book I ever read. I loved that Betsy was just my age, and envied her Miss Gray, her koala bear, and her plaid school bag. I don't know that we had school bags of any type, now that I think of it.

Upon rereading, I don't know that I would give this book to a modern six year old. It just... doesn't make much sense. Betsy is walking to school by herself, and even gets lost. She then talks to a stranger and waits at her house so that the woman's husband can take her back to school. Of course, it's not quite as weird when the husband turns out to be Officer Kilpatrick, who works as a crossing guard, but in Betsy's world, children pet dogs that are in people's yards, buy pretzels from an impoverished old woman who sells them out of a basket, and knocks on strangers' doors to apologize for picking their violets.

There are also some problematic instances like the discussion of Thanksgiving, the making of "Indian villages", and a circus, none of which would be described in a similar way in a modern book. I love Haywood's line drawings, but the book is written in a rather stilted way by today's standards.

Oh, Betsy. I still sort of want to hunt down Snowbound with Betsy and read it, but thinking back, it involves a huge snowstorm, a family whose car breaks down and then stays with Betsy's family for a while. I also seem to recall that Betsy was friends with some Black children that may have been the children of a woman who worked for her family. As much as I loved these books when I was six, they would require a LOT of explanation to a modern six year old.

Very sweet, fun, gentle story. Beatrice especially enjoyed it because she is about the age of Betsy in the book, and Charlie enjoyed listening in too. The adventures, concerns, mistakes, joys, and wishes of the characters were very relatable for my 4-6 year old children, and it even gave me a little insight into their way of thinking when we talked about it after. It reminded me a little of Betsy-Tacy... if you read and enjoyed that book, you'd probably enjoy this one too.

I loved this as a child, and it would be a great re-aloud book or first independent chapter book. Apparently part of a series. The book was written in the 1930’s and you can tell by the lack of technology. But it’s a cool way to introduce kids to a different way of going to school. As is the case with such old literature, the roles are stereotypical, the characters totally lack diversity, and nothing bad really happens. It’s a nice, happy book about a little girl’s first year at school. A cute and very vanilla-flavored (in more ways than one) young kids book. Suitable for 1st graders. There are also the original ink illustrations in the version I read. I understand the cover changes but not the internal illustrations.

Unfortunately dated, in some ways. But one star was for the mature way(I thought) that it handled anxiety.

This is a book I remember reading as a child and it is just as charming reading it to my children. They were as enchanted with Betsy as I was.

My Mom remembers reading the Betsy books when she was a young girl! My children (ages 10, 7, and 4) all loved the sweet episodic stories of Betsy's experiences in first grade. The cover art is a little deceptive--it gives the impression of a contemporary story. Don't be fooled! It's not reflective of the quaint, realistic illustrations inside. Highly recommend! We look forward to reading about Betsy's adventures in 2nd grade. :)

Fun

A sweet beginner book that follows Betsy from her first day of school to the end of the year with many happy little tales in between.

A great choice for your new reader!

#firstgrade #schoolyear

Ages: 4 - 9
Reading Level: 1st - 3rd grade

Content Considerations: nothing to note.

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Not as Funny as the Eddie books, but still cute! My 5 year especially liked it.